Heel-seat fitting machine



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Qua a En mg g VENTURL gout/l- MM Hwbmowm March 28, 1933. E. A. BEssoM vHEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINE Filed May 29, 1931 Q'She tS-Sheet 9 PatentedMar. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PLATE EARL A. BESSOM, or MARBLEH AD,MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNon T UNITE-D snoE,

PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, acoRronATIoN or NEW MACHINERY CORPORATION, OFJERSEY I a Application filed May 29,

This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of shoesand is illustrated herein as embodiediin a machine for fitting the heelportions of the soles of shoes for the reception of heels.

During the manufacture of shoes towhich Wood heels, for example, aretobe attached, it is customary to reduce the rear portion of the sole ofeach shoe for receiving the attaching face of a heel and also to formapair of shoulders, one at each end of the heel breast line, extendingtransversely of the sole and against which the breast of theheel abutswhen the heel is correctly positioned upon the shoe. This operation iscommonly known as heelseat fitting. V

In fitting the heel seats of shoes, it is important that the reducedheel-seat portion of the sole, which is often referred to as a tongue,shall substantially fill up the cavity of the attaching face of the heelin order to' serve as a solid support upon which the heel may beattached. Care must be taken, however, toremove from the sole an amountof material suificient to permit the rim of the attaching face of theheel to be pressed snugly against the overlastedcounter portion of theshoe in order to cause a merging of the 7 lines of the counterportion ofthe shoe and the side'of the heel and thereby to produce a shoe which isneat in appearance where the heel joins the shoe upper. It is alsodesirable that the 'heel-breast-receiving shoulders against which thebreast of the heel abuts shallbe formedto a shape complemental to theportion of the breast surface of the heel against which they are toengage and shall also be properly positioned upon the sole in order thatwhen the heel is attached to'the shoe in its desired position theheel-breastreceiving shoulders will be in abutting rela-', tion with thevbreast of theheel.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved machine forquickly and accurately fitting the heel seats of shoes of any and alltypes. Accordingly, the illustrated machine, which in its generalorganization similar in many respects to the machine disclosed in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,837,399, granted December 22,

NT I

HEEL-SEAT FITTING MACHINE- 1931. Serial m5. 540,990.

' of welt, McKay,-turn and compo shoes and even'of some stitchdowns. a 7

In order accurately to fit the heel-seat portion of ashoe for receivingawood heel, the sole shouldbe properly positioned inthe machine, bothwidthwise and lengthwise, relatively to the trimming instrumentalitiesof V the machine and should beheld in such position during the trimmingoperation. The shoe tobe operated on by the machine disclosed in" saidUnited States Letters Patent No; 1,837,399, as in the illustratedmachine, is positioned lengthwise by a back gage. A shoe the heel-seatportion of the sole of which is fitted by the use of themachine'disclosed in that application, however, is positioned widthwiseby crease plates, constr'ucted and arranged to enterthe rand crease ofthe shoe at opposite sides of the shoe, engaging the sole-attachingstitches which in welt," V

McKay and turn shoes extend rearwardly of the-breast line, even if foronly a short distance, and are located'at opposite sides of and atsubstantially equal distances. from the median plane of the sole. .1

The crease plates of the machine disclosed in said United States LettersPatent No. 1.837399 and in an application for United States LettersPatent Serial No. 170,881, filed February 25, 1927, in the name ofHarrie A. Ballard, in addition to centering the soles of the shoes inthe machines are designed to control the path of movement of a rotatingcutter, which is moved in'a U-shaped path peripherally of the heel seatof the shoe and thereby trims the rear part of the sole to provideatongue orreduced heel-seat portion of the sole having a heel-contactingsurface substantially complemental to the attaching face of theheel.This cutter is hereinafter spoken of as a back cutter to distinguish itfrom the cutter which makes the heelbreast-receiving shoulders.

In operating upon compo shoes there are no lines of stitches which maybe utilized as above described for centering the sole of the shoe andthe sole-attaching cement is not ordinarily extended to the rear ofthe-heel gage other parts of cured to the shoe upper by stitching.

breast line. In order, therefore, to center such shoes or to centershoes of any type if the heel-seat fitting is performed before thepermanent sole attachment and while the soles are held only by the solelaying fastenings, as is sometimes done in the manufacture of McKayshoes, the shoes must be positioned relatively to the median plane ofthe machine by centralizing members Which entheshoe. In order that themechanism for centralizing the shoe will be effective it should belocatedv away from the cutters which the paths of movement of performthe fitting operation, shouldrigidly hold the shoe in position whilebeing operated upon, and should be constructed and arranged to positionthe soles of both right and left shoes so that the median or centralplane of the soles ,of the shoes will be positioned in the median orcentral plane of the machine and will therefore be symmetrical withrespect to the paths ofmovement of the cutters of the machine.

In a machine in which the back cutter is constructed and arrangedto bemoved peripherally'of the heel seat toform a tongue or a reducedheel-seat portion of the sole which will accurately fit the attachingface of a heel to be applied to the shoe and in which the cutter isguided in a path .controlled the setting of crease plates as abovedescribed, it is desirable not only accurately to centralizethe shoe butalso to position the crease plates in the same location relatively tothe shoe that they would assume when centering a sole 'of a shoe'se-Such a heel-seat fitting machine will operate effectively on bothcemented and sewed sole work as well as on shoes the soles of which havebeen laid but not yet stitched.

With the above object in view and in order to cooperate with the backgage in positioning thesoles of shoes in the machine, the illustratedmachine,'in accordance with a fea ture of the invention, is providedwith a movable gage which is constructed and arranged to engage theopposite sides of the rear part of the counter portion of the shoe incombination with centralizing or clamping members mounted for equal andopposite movement toward and away from the -median plane of the machineand shaped and arranged to engage opposite sides of the shoe as the"gage is moved rearwardly under pressure applied through the shoe, thegage cooperating withv the centralizing or clamping members topositionthe shoe widthwise in the machine. 7

The centralizing and clamping members which, as illustrated, are mountedfor equal and opposite movement and engageopposite sides of the shoeupper, are designed properly to position the soles of both right andleft shoes; In accordance with another fea sewed sole,

ture of the invention, these members comprise shoe-engaging partsmountedfor pivotal movement and constructed and arranged to tilt upon contactwith the shoe upper, the degree of tilting depending upon theinclination of the shoe upper to the median plane of the shoe at thepoint of contact. This tilting of the shoe-engaging parts, which may begeared together and have their shoecontacting portions normallypositioned at equal and opposite distances from the median plane of themachine when these portions are out of contact with the shoe upper,causes one of the parts to shorten more than the other because of thedifference in the curvature of the two sides of the shoe at the pointsof contact, with the effect that a point equidistant from the points ofcontact with the shoe upper will move to one side of the median plane ofthe machine when positioning a right shoe and will move an equaldistance to the opposite side of the median plane of the shoe whenpositioning a left shoe. The median planes of the soles of both rightand left shoes positioned by the above-mentioned members, however, willlie substantially in the median plane of the machine, and will,therefore, be symmetrical with respect to the paths of movement of thecutters. 1

In order, when operating on shoes the soles of which are not attached.by stitching, to locate the crease plates in the same position thatthey. would occupy were theycentralizing a corresponding shoe having aand inaccorda-nce with another feature of the invention, the arms of thecentralizing and clamping members of the illustrated machine carry stopswhich, when the shoe has the median plane of its sole positioned in themedian plane of the machine, are engaged by the crease plates which aremoved into operative position against the stops and, by appropriatemechanism, lock the centralizing or clamping members against movement. I

In addition to varying the shape of the horseshoe-shaped path of theback cutter which moves peripherally of the heel seat portion of thesole to trim. off the surplus material therebyforming a rearwardly extending tongue portion, the crease plates, in accordance with anotherfeatureof the invention, are designed automatically tovary the path of acutter mounted for-movement 1 from the sole rearwardly of the shoulder,in v order that the width of the base of the tongue will correspond inwidth to the forward portion of the tongue formed by the back cutter.

In fitting the heel seats of shoes the'crease plates of the heel-seatfittlng machlne should enter between the sole and the over-lasted'portion of the shoe upper at least as far forward as the heel-breastline of the sole in order properly to support the sole and to protectthe shoe upper. These plates, however, when operating on compo shoes,the soles of which are attached merely by an adhesive, should not enterthe shoe forwardly of that line or they may break the adhesive bond bywhich the sole is attached to the shoe. In order therefore, that whenoperating on shoes of different sizesthe forward edges of the creaseplates will terminate substantially at the breast line of the shoe, andin accordance with a further feature of this invention, the illustratedmachine is provided with crease plate members which, together; with theshoulderformi-ng cutter, are mounted for adjustment lengthwise ofthe-positioned shoe to a position determined by a'heel gage such asdescribed in the above-mentioned application for United States LettersPatent Serial No. 170,881 and in said United Patent No. 1,837,399. r

Shoulders for receiving the breasts of Louis or Cuban heels may be cutonshoes of'a given size by the use of the illustrated machine, withoutadjusting the position of the shoe lengthwise in the machine. To thisend the shoulder-forming cutter is a guide bar which is positioned bythe heel gageabove mentioned and which, in combination with othermechanism carried by the bar, guides the shoulder-forming cutter invarying paths, dependent upon the style and size of the shoe,

States Letters across the sole of the shoe; In order to change from onestyle of vheel to another and in accordance with another feature of theinvention, the mechanism of the illustrated machine for guiding theshoulder-forming cutter across the sole comprises a latch slide whichmay be set in one position for causing the cutter-guiding mechanism tomove the cutter heightwise of the sole as it moves trans: versely acrossthe sole for'forming shoulders shaped and positioned for engaging theprojecting lip of the breast of a Louis heel and which may be set inanother position to cause the cutter-guiding mechanism to move thecutter lengthwise of the heel further to the rear, as well as heightwiseof the sole, upon movement transversely across the sole thereby formingshoulders curved in the plane of the sole and shaped to engage thebreast portion of a Cuban heel. 7

As above stated, the guide bar upon which the shoulder-forming cutter ismoved across the sole is not adjusted lengthwise of the sole of the shoewhen the operator changes from Cuban to Louis heel work and in orderthat the crease plates shall extend to but not forwardly'of the breastline of the heel when operating on both Cuban and Louis heel work and inaccordance with a further feature of the invention, the crease platesmay be adjusted relatively to the guide bar and the relatively to thecutter as the and Cuban Workrespectively.

In orderto prevent the sole supported by the crease plates from beingpicked up by the cutter during the shoulder-forming op eration and inaccordance with still'another feature of the invention, the, illustratedma.- chine is provided with a holddownsupported for movement with andaheadof the rotary:

shoulder-forming cutter and pivotally mounted for movement about theaxis of rotation of the cutter, the arrangement being such that theholddown progressively presses-ya portion of thesole ahead of the cuttertoward 1 a the last or the jack by which the shoe is car-.

ried by reason of the frictional drag between the sole and the cutter.The illustrated h-olddown is" constructed andiarranged to ride up thetread face of the movedtransversely across the sole toward the medianplane of the sole and also. to rise sole increases in thickness. It hasbeen found to be unnecessary to hold down the sole-after thecutter soleas the cutter is reaches a position at which it starts to riseheightwise of the sole and in order therefore to retain-the holddowninits raised position I during the'remainder of the shoulder-formingoperation, thereby lessening the power consumed, the illustrated machineis provided with a pawl and ratchet arrangement for retaining theholddown in raised position until the cutter arrives back at itsstarting point when the holddown is released: and is urged toward thecrease plates. I a

a In order to guide the rotary backcutter in'a horeshoe-shaped path toreduce the-heel seat portion of the sole, the shaft, upon which thecutter is mounted, does not-move ago withina guidewayformed in templetplates of themachine as disclosed in the United States Letters PatentNo. 1,661,391, granted March 6, 1928 on an application filed in the nameof WilliamC. Stewart, andhas also dis closed in the above-mentionedUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,837,399, but in accord ance withanother feature of this invention, the illustrated machine is providedwith a circular plate having cam rolls constructed and arranged totravel in a horseshoe-shaped guideway formed in the templets which, asabove eXplained,-'are mounted for adjustment toward and away from eachother with the crease plates, and a rotary cutter the shaft of whichpasses through the-plate and is constrained for movementaround the rearportion of the sole asthe cam rolls carried by a the plate are movedaround the guideway? By guiding the shaft of the rotary back cutcircular plate, as

ter indirectly through the distinguished from guiding shaft by slots cutthrough templet plates, the machine can be made'to reduce-the heel seatportion of thesole of a shoe to an 'exthe rotary cutter tremely narrowtongue, if desired, without necessitating such a design of any of theparts of the machine, particularly the parts which guide the cutter in.the horseshoeshaped path, as might impairtheir strength.

In order to permit the back cutter which moves in the horseshoe-shapedpath to move farther forward of the machine when operating'upon Louiswork than when operating on Cuban work and in accordancewith a furtherfeature of the invention, the guide bar uponwhich the shoulder-formingcutters are mounted carries a gage which is pivotally mounted foradjustment into either of two positions and has two gaging faces locatedat unequal'distances from the point about which the gage is pivoted, thearrangement being such that either of the gaging faces which limits themovement of the'back cutter forwardly ofthe machine may be disposedtoward the rear portion of the machine according to whether it isdesired to fit the heel-seat portion of the shoe for receiving a Louisor a Cuban heel. I

To provide for adjusting the rotary back cutter axially of its shaftrelatively to the crease plates and in accordance with another featureof the invention, a sleeve or bushing mounted upon the shaft and securedagainst axial movement relatively to the shaft has a spur gear aiiixedthereto and shaped and arranged to mesh with a worm carried by a memberwhich supports the bushing and is in threaded relation therewith, thearrangement being such that the operator may rotate the worm and therebyrotate the bushing relatively toflthe member for adjusting the rotarycutter toward and away from the crease plates. V

These and other features of the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which I Figs. 1 and 2 arefront and plan views, respectively, of the illustrated heel seat fittingmachine, certain parts of which have been broken away more clearly toshow the construction of the machine;

Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view of the machine taken along line IIIIII of Fig. 1;

Fig.4 is a horizontal sectional view of the machine taken along lineIVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the top of the machine,parts having been broken away to illustrate portions of mechanismforguiding a rotary back cutter which is designed to reduce the rearportion of a sole peripherally of the sole;

Fig. 6 is a side view of heel gaging apparatus as viewed while lookingin the direction indicated by arrows VI-VI of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the rear portion of the machineas viewed while looking in the direction of arrows VIIVII of Fig.2,"

' Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view, vpartly of the centralizing andclamping members and the shoe when the shoe has been centralized in themachine; y

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the rear portion of an inverted shoe asit comes to the machine for having its heel seat fitted;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the shoe shown in Fig. 11after the rear portion of the sole of that shoe'has been trimmed aroundits peripheral portion by the back cutter to reduce or to tongue therear portion I of the sole V V Fig. 13 is a perspective viewcorresponding to Fig. 12 but showing the shoe after heelbreast-receivingshoulders have been formed upon the shoe to complete the heel-seatfitting operation;

Fig. 14; is a plan View of mechanism for controlling the movement of therotary cutter which forms heel-breast-receiving shoulders upon the soleof the positioned shoe,

parts of the casing in this view having been broken away in orderclearly to illustrate the interior constructlon of this mechanism;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the mecha nism illustrated in Fig. .14as seen from above looking in the direction indicated by the arrow XV ofFig. 14; V i

Fig. 16 is a sectional view of the mechanism for forming theheel-b-reast-receiving shoulders, this view having been taken along theline XVI-XVI of Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is a rear view of the cutter and v portions of the mechanism forforming the heel-breast-receiving shoulders, as seen while looking inthe direction of arrows XVII- XVII of Fig. 16 and also illustrates therelative position of a shoe, the cutter, a sole-sup porting creaseplate, and .a sole holddown as the cutter starts to trim the sole uponmoves ment transversely across the same;

Fig. 18 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 17 but showing therelative positions of the parts'illustrated in that figure after thecutter has trimmed the full thickness of the Fig. 19 is an end view ofthe mechanism illustrated in Fig. 17 while looking along the axis aboutwhich the cutter is rotated, the cutter having been removed toillustrate clearly the construction of the sole holddown" which travelsin front of the cutter as the cutter moves across the sole; and

sole for a short distance and is about to rise "as it moves transverselyof the sole;

work and also illustrating the outlines of cor Fig. 20 is a diagrammaticview illustrating.

the projections of the paths of movement of the rotaryshoulder-formingcutter upon the sole while operating upon Cuban andLouis responding Cuban and Louis heels in relation'to said projections.

The illustrated heel-seat fitting machine is of the same general type asthe machine disclosed in the above-mentioned United States LettersPatent Ito-1,661,391, and more closely. resembles the machine disclosedin the above-.

mentioned United States Letters Patent 1,837,399. The illustratedmachine, like each of the machines just referred to,'has a main frame(Fig. 3) comprising leg castings 32 for supporting a bed casting 34(Fig. 1), provided at its central part with a recessed portion 36 (Figs.1 and 3) into which the shoe to be operated upon is introduced.

In order to cooperate with other members, which will presently bedescribed, in holding the shoe during the heel-seat fitting'operationand for assisting the operator in presenting the shoe to the machine,themachine is provided with a shoe support38 substantially identicalwith the support disclosed in said United States Letters Patent N o.

1,837,399, and comprises a last pin 40 mounted for lateral slidingmovement in a T- shaped slot 42 (Fig. 3) formed in the top of hollowpost 44 which is in telescopic relation with a lower post 46 pivoted tothe main,

frame at 48. The hollow post 44 is normally held in a raised positionrelatively to'the lower post 46 by a spring 50 (Fig. 3) housed in thehollow post 44 and having its upper and lower ends bearing upon theinside of the hollow post 44 and against the lower post respectively.

In order to serve as a support for the sole of the shoe as well as toguard the shoe upper from being cut during the heel-seat fittingoperation, the machine is provided with crease plates 52 which enter therand crease of the shoe, the shoe being positioned widthwise andlengthwise in the machine upon the support 38 by centralizing members 54and a back stop or gage 55 respectively; As in the machine disclosed inUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,837,399,after the shoe is positionedand securely held in the machine, a rotary back cutter 56, which issupported for rotation upon a shaft 58 disposed at substantially rightanglesto the sole of the positioned shoe, moves around the rearperipheral part of the sole for trimmin a tongue or reduced heelseatportion 60 (Big. 12) having a beveled marginal portion 62. To completethe heel-seat fitting operation after having cut the tongue 60 in thesole, the

ly across the sole for forming heel-breast-re' ceiving shoulders66 (Fig.13) and'for winging out fillets 68 (Fig. 12) located immediate-- ders66which may be said to constitute a 1 heel-breastreceiving abutment areillustratedasseparated by the full thickness of the sole. It will beunderstood, however, that when the tongue60 is very narrow, theheelbreast-receiving abutment extends from one side of the tongue to theother. A heel seat shaped by the use of the illustrated machineand asshown in Fig. 13 will'accurately fit the attaching face of a heel whichis to be applied to the shoe and the heel-breast-receiving shoulderswill conform to the shape'of the breast. of the heel, thus providing ashoe which is neat in appearance where the heel ]O iI1S the shoe upperand a heel will engage: substantially the "entire attachng face of J theheel for effectively supportingtheheel. V Y

As above stated, in fitting the heel seats of soles of compo shoes,asdistin'guished form the operation of fitting the heel seatsfof soleswhich are sewed to shoe uppers by'lines of stitches, itis important thatthesoleesupporting crease plates 52 shallnot enter the, rand crease ofthe shoe forwardlyj of the breast line'TO (Figs. 11,12, and 13) of thesole and thus disturb the adhesive bondby which the sole isattached tothe shoe upper.

Accordingly, in the illustrated. machine vision'is made for adjustingthe crease plates 52between th'e'operations of fittingthe heel seats ofsoles of different sizes in order that the forward edges 72 of thecrease plates 52 will terminate substantially at the breast lines of thesoles of different sizes ofshoes fitted in themachines.

Another difference between the operations 'offitting the heel seats ofthe above-men;

ed for equal anjd'opposite movements "and are located at equal distancesfrom an imaginary vertical median plane 74 (F ig. 1) mm.

tralized relatively to the paths of, movement of the back cutter 56 andthe cutter 64 and median plane, enter the rand crease until seat whichPatent Nol 12 wh ch will be referred to as a central or 0 they strikethe line of sole attaching stitches located at substantially equaldistancesgfrom the medianplane of the sole, while in operating upon thesole of a compo shoe another device for centering the sole widthwise aswell as for positioning the crease plates, the position of which controlthe paths 'ofiimovement ofthecutters 66, 64, should 'be providedininorder to' avoid disturbing the cement by which the solesare attached. Ij The machine disclosed in the above-mentioned United States LettersPatent No.

i 1,837 ,399 is illustrated withreference to the fitting of solessecured by stitching to'shoe uppers.

In that machinev movable templets are constrained for movement withcrease plates and correspond to templets 76 of the illustrated machine,having a horseshoeshaped cam way or guideway 78 for controlling themovement of. the back cutter 56, whiehtrims material from the rearportion of the sole of the shoe to form the tongue 60, the-size andshapeof which is determined mechanism which will later be described in"detail.

It is important that when the sole of a compo shoe is centralized in themachine by mech anism which will later be described, the crease plates52 shall be moved toward each other to the same extent they would bemoved if they were centralizing in the machinela sole attached toacorresponding shoe by lines of stitches. The illustrated machine whichis designed to meet these conditions as will later appear may be usedefiectively and inter-' changeably for fitting the heel seats of shoes,the soles of which have been sewed or cemented to the shoe uppers.

As above stated, in fitting the heel seats of compo shoes, the creaseplates 52 which support the sole against the action of the cutters 56should extend to the breast line of the sole of the shoe being fittedbut should not extend forwardly of that line. Accordingly, the creaseplates 52 are arranged so that they I may be adjusted forwardly andrearwardly of the machine together with the shoulderforming cutter 64,and relatively to the back stop 55 by a heel gage' controlled'by a heel82, which is to be applied to the shoe, or a heel identical with thatheel.

' The mechanism for adjusting a guide bar '84, along which theheel-shoulder forming cutter 64 is moved transversely across the sole,relatively to the back stop 55 for'forming the heel-breast-receivingshoulders 66 at their'proper positions lengthwise of the sole, will bedescribed later and is fully disclosed in the'above-mentioned UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,837,399.

- Grease plate construction 7 Secured the bed casting 34 of the machineis ,a bed plate 86 (Figgl) consisting of top and bottom parts 88 and 90,respectively,

65 screwed together and having a recessed portion 92 (Fig. 4) shapedgenerally to conform to the recessed portion 36 of the bed plate 34.

The plate (Fig. 1) supports a pair of arcuate plates 94 which arepartially included between the parts 88 and 90 of the bed plate 86 andeach of which has an arcuate groove 96 (Fig. 4) for receiving acorrespondingly shaped arcuate flange 97 (Fig. 1) ofthe top part 88 ofthe bed plate 86. The arcuate plates 94 are mounted for movement throughmechanism, which will be described later, in arcuate paths along theircorresponding arcu-- ate flanges 97. Secured to the central parts of theinner portions ofeach of the arcuate plates 94 (Fig. 4) are back plates98 having their forward inner edges 100 contacting with each other andtheir opposing sidesdiverg ing rearwardly from the point of contact.

The backplates 98 are constructed" and 'ar-' ranged to enter the rearportion of the rand crease of the shoe positioned in the machine, themounting of the arcuate plates 94 and the back plates 98 being such thatwhen the arcuate plates 94 are swung along their respective arcuateflanges 97 the back plates will pivot about the point 100.

The positions of the heel-breast-receiving shoulders 66 lengthwise ofthe sole, as above stated, are determined by the positionof the guidebar 84 which carries the cutter 64 and which may be adjusted forwardlyand rearwardly of the machine upon a carriage 102 through mechanismwhichwill be described later. Since the shoe to be operated upon ispositioned lengthwise of itself in the ma chine by engagement of therear of the counter portion of the shoe against the back stop 55 whichis normally bolted to the main frame, it will be clear that when shoeshaving different lengths of heel seats are fitted, the crease plates 52,the front edges 7 O of which terminate substantially at the breast lineof the sole, must be adjusted forwardly. and

rearwardly of the sole to the, same extent as the guide bar andthat thecutter will cooperate with the forward parts of the upper surfaces ofthe crease plates in making the shoulder-forming cuts.

, In order. to provide rearward adjustments of crease plates 52, each ofthe creasev plates comprises in addition to the back plates 98anelongated side plate 104 shaped and positioned to enter the sides ofthe rand crease of the shoe (Fig. 4). The inside edges 106 of the sideplates 104 for the forward and engage corresponding outside faces 108 ofthe back plates 98 and at all times form with the back plates asubstantially U-shaped support. Each of the side plates 104 is screwedto a slide arm 110 movable in guideway 112 of one of the arcuate plates94, in which guideway it is held by a top plate 114 which may be formedintegral with the top part 88 of the bed plate 86. In order. to insurethat the inner edges of the crease plates 52 will be held up against theunder having an upward thrust is Mechanism for opening and closingcrease plates The mechanism for swinging the crease plates 52 toward andaway from each other into and out of engagement with the rand crease ofa shoe mounted upon the worksupport after the former has been movedrearwardly of the machine to the position shown injFig. 3, and foreffecting corresponding adjustments of the templets 76, is somewhatsimilar to that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,834,083,granted December 1, 1931, on an application filed in the name of HarrieA. Ballard. This mechanism comprises a hand lever 118 (Fig. 3) securedto the right end (Fig. 1) of a transversely extending rod 120 supportedfor rotation in a bearing of the main frame and keyed to. an upwardlyextending lever 122 (Fig. 3) pivot= ally secured at its upper end to aslide 124 guided along a slot 126 (Fig. 4) of a rearwardly extending arm128 having at its rear end a bifurcated portion 130 (Fig. 3) whichstraddles a block132 and is connectedthereto through a pin 134, theblock 132 being universally mounted upon the end of a back lever 136pivoted at 138 (Fig. 4) to the main frame. The slide 124 is normallyheld in its rearward position in the slot 126 by a strong spring 140 theforward end of which is connected to an upstanding post 142 carried bythe slide 124 and the rear end of which is connected to a lug 144carried by the block.

132; The tension of the spring 140 may be changed by a screw 146 carriedby the block 132 and arranged to move the lug 144 along the block.Carried by and pivotally mounted on the back lever 136 is an equalizingbar 148 each of the ends of which is pivotally secured to a forwardlyextending link 150 having a recess for receiving a pm 152 carried by itsrespective arcnate plate 94. It vwill'be clear that as the hand lever118 is moved down wardly, the back lever 136 will swing forwardly of themachine and through the links 150 the crease plates will be moved aroundthe arcuate flanges 97 in such a mannerthat the rand-ereuse-enteringedges of crease plates 52 will-be brought into contact with the randcrease of the shoe and that as the hand lever is raised the soleentering portions of the crease plates will be spread apart.

The connection between the upstanding lever 122 and the backlever 136 issuch that upon downward movement of the hand lever and until the creaseplates 52 are in their closed positions,'the slide 124 remains at therear end of the slot 126 afterwhich, and as theoperator continues tomove the hand leside of the top ver 118 downwardly thereby swinging a deI pending lever 154 (Fig. 3) rearwardly of the machine about the shaft120 to raise the shoe support against the bottom of the crease plates asdescribed and claimediin the above-.v mentioned application for LettersPatent Serial N 0. 287,429, the slide 124 continues to move forwardlyalong the slot 125 and to flex the spring 140, the rear end of which isheld stationary by the block 132. After the sole of the shoe has beenfitted and as the hand lever 118 is raised, the pressureagainst thecrease plates by the shoe 38 is released'and the crease plates 52 willremain stationary until the slide 124 reaches the rear end of the slot126 at which time and upon continued upward movement of the hand lever118 the crease plates will start to separate.

In the illustrated machine, as already indicated, the sole of the shoeis not centralized in the machine by the contacting of the crease plateswith the lines of the sole attach ing stitches which usually extendrearwardly of the heel-breast line of the sole but instead the movementof each of the crease. plates toward the central plane of the machine islim-' ited by its corresponding centralizing member 54, the equalizingbar 148 serving to permit one of the crease plates to continue itsmovementrtoward the central plane of the machine afterthe oppositecrease plate has been stopped by its corresponding .centraliz ingmember.

Shoe support and operating therefor Since the mechanism for operatingthe shoe support 38 is clearly described and claimed in said UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,837,399, it will be sufficient briefly to.describe this mechanism. Inorder positively to raise the shoe support 38for forcing the overlasted portion of the shoe against the bottom ofthecrease plates as above described, the hollow post 44 carries a pair ofdiametrically arranged rolls 156 (Figs. 1 and 3) constructed andarranged for engagement with a pivotally mounted cam member 157 whichmay be swung rearwardly of the machine by a link 158, the forwardmechanism end of which is pivoted to the cam member 157 and the rearportion ofwhichis' connected by a pin-and-slot connection 160 to thedependinglever. 154. The lever 154 is fulcrumed upon the rod and ismounted for movement with the rod through-a depending segment arm 162keyed to the rod 120 and having an arciiate slot 164 for receiving aclamp screw 166 carried by the depending lever 154 and serving to lockthe segment arm 162: and theydepending lever 7 together. 1

.111 presenting to the machine the heelend 1 of an inverted shoe upon alast mounted-upon the last pin 40, the operator swings the work support38re'arwardly of the machine and at the same time depresses the hollowpost 44 chine through mechanism which will later be bottom of the creaseplates described in detail, the shoe is centralized by the centralizingmembers 54, which may also bereferre-d to as centralizing and clampingmembers, after which it is positioned lengthwise in the machine by theback gage or stop 55. When the machine has been positioned, the operatormoves the hand lever 118 downwardly and through the above-describedmechanism causes the shoe support 38 to be raised upwardly by the cammember 157, the degree of upward force of the shoe against the creaseplates being determined by the'tension in a spring 168, the oppositeends of which are connected to the depending lever 154 and the cammember 157. The degree of force with which the shoe presses against the52 may be varied by changing the clamped position of the depending lever154 relatively to the depending segment arm 162 through the clamp screw166, which may be adjusted along the arcuate slot 164. In order to lockthe shoe in the ma chine during the fitting operation, the hand lever118 and the cam members 157 are provided with pawl-and-ratchet members17 0 and 172, respectively, provision being made for tripping the pawlsofv each of the mechanisms at the end of the heel-seat-fitting operationto release the shoe preparatory to removing the shoe from the machine.

Work centraliaz'ng mechanism In order to centralize the sole of theshoein the machine, the illustrated machine is provided with theabove-mentioned centralizing and clamping members '54 (Fig. 8) mountedfor equal and opposite movement toward and away from each other forengagingthe opposite sides of the shoe and with a crotch or V-shapedgage 17 4against which the rear of machine.

the counter-portion of the shoe is engaged. Each of the centralizingmembers 54 comprises a bell-crank lever 17 6 geared at 178 to a reversebut corresponding part of the other centralizing member and is pivotallymounted upon a slide 180 which may be moved forwardly and rearwardly ofthe machine in a guideway 182 which is located centrally of the Theslide 180 is normally held'fon wardly of the machine by a strong spring184 retained in position by a rod 186 screwed to the slide at 188 andhaving its front and rear ends in contact with the slide 180 and a frameA pin 192 on the rod wardly on its guideway 194 by a spring 198 weakerthan the spring 184 and surrounding a pin 200, the forward end of whichis screwed to the rear end of the slide and the rear end of which isreceived within a recess 202 of the slide 180. The forward move- -mentof the slide 196 in its guideway 194 is limited by a stud 204 carried bythe slide 196 and constructed and arranged for reception in a slot 206formed in the right bell-crank lever 17 6 (Fig. 8). The arrangement issuch that, when the shoe upon the support is moved rearwardly of themachine and is slightly depressed so that when the overlasted heelportion of the shoe engages the under sides of the forward edge portionof the partially closedcrease plates 52, pressure of. the rear of thecounter portion of the shoe against the V-shaped gage 174 will move theslide rearwardly in its guideway 194 and will compress the spring 198while the stud 204 carried by the slide 196 and operating within theslot 206 will cause the centralizing members 154 to close in upon and toclamp the sides of the shoe upper just forwardly of the breast line 70of the sole and underneath the crease plates 52. The V-shaped gage 174and the centralizing or clamping members 54, therefore, cooperate toposition the shoe widthwise in the machine. Upon contact of thecentralizing or clamping members 54 with the shoe, the slides 180 and196 are'locked for movementtogether and move rearwardly of the machineagainst the pressure of a plane of the machine inorder properly to" trimthe sole for receiving the heel. It will be noted, as illustrated inFig. "10, that the outer or little-toe side 208 of the counter portionof the shoe is located slightly nearer to the median plane 210 of thesole than is the inner or great-toe side 212 of the counter portion.Moreover, it will be noted that a plane tangent to the outer counterportion 208 at the point of contact of one of the centralizing memberswith that portion is less inclined to the median plane 210 than a planetangent to the inner counter portion 212 where theopposite centralizingmember engages that portion. The centralizing or clamping members 54 arenormally positioned as above described at equal and opposite distancesfrom the central plane of the machine and if the shoe-contactingportions of these members were positively constrained for unyieldingequal and opposite movement upon engagement with the shoe, a centralpoint 214 located between the points of contact, such. as indicated byreference numerals 210, 212, would lie in the central vertical plane ofthe machine and the median plane 210 of the sole would therefore lie toone side or the other of the central plane a of the machine, dependingupon whether a right or left shoe were being operated upon in themachine. I a V In order to move the shoe so that the median plane 210 ofits sole will lie in the central plane of the machine when operatingupon either right or left shoes, each of the centralizing or clampingmembers 54 is provided with an arm 216 pivotally mounted at 218 (Fig. 9)upon its corresponding bellcrank lever 176 to permit it to swing in avertical plane relatively to that member, but normally held in positionas an extension of the bell-crank lever 17 6 in the position shown inFig. 9 by leaf springs 220secured to the bell-cranklever 176 andengaging the top and bottom faces, respectively, of the arms 216. Eachof the arms 216 at its forward end is constructed and arrangeduniversally to support a short stem 222 having an en larged end portion224 provided with a convex surface 226 constructed and arranged forengaging the counter portions 208 and 212, respectively, of the shoe,the stem 222 being normally held disposed at right angles to the insidevertical face 228 of the arm 216 by a coiled spring 230, the ends ofwhich engage the face 228 and the enlarged end portion 224. Each of thestems 222, which may be referred to as having a mushroom shape and whichserves as a feeler, has its convexheel-contacting surface 226 so shapedas to rock or to tilt upon theconvex counter portions 208 or 212 of theshoe with which it contacts until the stem 222 1 assumes a positionsubstantially normal to a plane tangent to the counter portion of theshoe at the point of contact. 1

It has been found, when the centralizing or clamping members 54 contactwith the inner and outer counter portions 208 and 212 of the shoe asillustrated in Fig 10, that as the stems 222 tilt to assume positionsnormal to their respective planes of tangency the arms 216are slightlyraised and pivot about their respective axes 218, the arm which contactswith the inner exterior counter portion 212 rising much higher than thearm which engages the outside exterior counter portion 208 of the shoe.Since the clamping members are geared together for equal and oppositemovement, it will be understood that,'when the stems 222 tilt topositions such as illustrated in Fig. 10, the

point 214 located midwaybetween the points. of contact of the convexsurfaces 226 with the shoe will move to the left of the medianplane ofthe machine a distance indicated by reference numeral 232. When a leftshoe is positioned in the machine, the relative positions of the arms216 and their respective rods at opposite sides ofthe shoe will bereversed and the central point214 located between the points of contactof the convex surfaces 226 with the shoe will then be located to theright of the median plane of the machine for a distance correspondingtothe distance indicated by reference numeral 232. By tilting one or theotherof the stems 222, the point 232 may be shifted to vtheleft or tothe right of the central plane of the machine in order that the shoe maybe moved been found satisfactory for usual conditions... 1

It will be clear, however, that the stem may, be enlarged to suitspecialconditions and.

that the proportions of the parts of the clamping members may be changedwithout departing from the invention herein disclosed.

In order to limit themovement of each of the crease plates 52 toward theother crease plate, each of the arms 216 is provided with .a stop screw233 which may be adjustably set relatively to the arm by. a locknut 235and which is engaged by depending portions 23 (Fig. 1) of the creaseplates 52. i Mechanism for supporting and guiding back cutter The cuttershaft 58, which at all times is disposed in perpendicular relationtofthe crease plates 52 (Figs. 1 and 3) and which is moved in ahorseshoe-shaped pathfor re. during the heel portion of the sole by abevel out such as illustrated in Fig. 12, is supported by mechanismsomewhat similar to that'de-.

scribed and claimed in the above-mentioned United States Letters PatentNo. 1,661,391, filed in the name of W. C. Stewart and as also disclosedin said United States Letters Patent No. 1,837,399. This mechanism .com-

prises a table 23 1'c0nsisting of'spaced, par-. allelly disposed top,middle and lower plates 1 259, 236v and 238, respectively, secured to--.gether and mounted for movement forwardly and rearwardly of the machinein guideways 239 formed in the inside faces ofthe lateral sides ofthe-machine frame in order tolmove the back cutter 56 forwardly ofithemachine internally threaded to an operative position or to move thecutter to aninoperative position such as illustrated in Fig. 3. The backcutter 56 remains in its rearward position while the cutter 64 isoperating to form the heel-breast-receiving shoulders 66. The forwardmovement of the table 234 in the guideways 239 is limited by a stop'240.1) and the rearward movement of the table 234 is limited by engagementof the rear end of the table with an extension 242 of the main frame.

In order to support the cutter shaft 58 and to assure that it isdisposed normally to the crease plates 52 during the movement in thehorseshoe-shaped path, the mach ine is provided with an externallythreaded sleeve 244 (Fig. 3) mounted upon the shaft 58 and held inpredetermined axial relation therewith by uppera'nd lower collars 246and 248, respectively, secured to the shaft 58. The sleeve 244' iscarried inthreaded relation with an enlargedhub 250 having at its upperportion a circular plate 252 of a size adapted slidingly to fit withinan opening 254 left between the middle and lower plates 236 and 238,respectively, of the table 234. The arrangement is such that theenlarged hub 250, through the circular plate 252, supports the sleeve244 which in turn rotatively supports the cutter shaft 58. A recessedporf tion 256 at the forward central portion of the table 234 issufficiently large and of a shape to permit the shaft 58 to be guided ina horseshoe-shaped path through mechanism which will now be described.

Mounted in a circular recess 258 in the upper face of the top plate 259screwed to the upper plate 236 of the table 234 are a pair ofoverlapping arcuate plates or templets 76,

each having a groove 264 (Figs. 3 and 5) shaped and arranged to bereceived by an areuate tongue portion 266 of the top plate I 259 andarranged for arcuate adjustment tocutter-operating ward and away fromeach other in the circular recess 258. Each of the templets 76 has aportion of reduced thickness which overlaps a reversed butcorrespondingly reduced part of the other plate. The platesor templets76 are cut away at their forward central portions to form a U-shapedportion 268 and are provided with the horseshoe shaped guideway 78constructed and arranged to receive cam rolls 272 attached to anddependingfrom a circular plate 274 which is rotatablymounted in acorrespondingly shapedopening of a cutter-operating plate 276 and whichis provided with a'circular opening of a size suitable for receiving thesleeve 244 mounted upon the cutter shaft 58. "The an operating arm 280and is slidably mounted .for'movement over the top plate 259 of thetable 254' and is arranged to move the cam rolls 272 carried by thecircular plate 274 around ithe horseshoe-shaped guideway 78,

plate 278 is provided with the circular plate, of course,turning-relatively to the operating plate 278' during this movement andcausing the cutter shaft 58 to move in a horseshoe-shapedpath for thepurpose of forming the reduced heel-seat portion or tongue on the solelocated upon the crease plate 52. The cutter-operating plate 278 isfulcrumed for movement about a pin 282 (Fig. 2) carried by an operatinglever 284 pivoted at 286 to the top plate 259, the arrangement beingsuch that the operating arm 280 thus moves the work in moving the cutterin the horseshoe-shaped path, the lever 284 being mainly used forassisting the operatingarm 280 in moving'around deadcenter. 7

Instead of mounting a gear-carrying housing 288, through which thecutter is rotated andwhich will later be described, upon thecutter-operating plate, such as is illustrated in said United StatesLetters Patent No. 1,837,399, it has been found, because of thesubstantial turning movement of the cutteroperating plate 276 as abovedescribed, that in adapting the parts of themachine disclosed in saidpatent to the herein-described structure it is advantageous to mount thegear-carrying housing 288 (Fig. 1') upon a separate top plate 290 (Fig.2) in order to limit, by the use of an arcuate groove292 through the pin282, the angular swing of the gear-carrying housing 288 duringtheheelseat fitting operation. By utilizing the mechanism above described,the cutter 56 may be moved in a horse-shoe shaped path to form tongues60 having very little width, without the necessity of thinning down andtherefore impairing the strength of the cutter guiding elements. 7 I

The table 234 may be moved forwardly or rearwardly of the machine by ahand lever 294 positioned at the upper righthand side of the machine(Figs. 1 and 2) and secured to a rock shaft 294 extending through theframe of the machine and towhich isjsecured an arm 298 (Fig. connectedto a rearwardly extending link 300 having near its rear end a slot 302which is of a size suitable for receiving a pin 304 carried by adepending boss 306 of the table 234. When the table 234 is in itsrearward position, the pin. 304 engages the front portion of the slotbecause of the pull ofa strong spring 308,

the frontend of which is connected to the lever 300 and the rear end ofwhich is at tached to the pin 304. When the hand lever 294is'swungforwardly of the machine, the

main frame for holding the hand lever 294. in its forward position.

Mechanism for adjust'mg templets 7 As above explained, the templets 76are adjustable about the arcuate tongue 266 and for each degree ofadjustment of the crease plates 52 about the arcuate flanges 97 there isa corresponding degree of adjustment of the templets. Since the creaseplates 52 are set by the stop screws 233, which, when the shoe ispositioned inthe machine, are located. at substantially equal distancesfrom themedian plane of the sole and at opposite sides of the sole, thecrease plates in their operative positions will be located atsubstantially equal distances from the median plane of the sole.

1 The mechanism for effecting an adjustment of the templets 76corresponding to the ad justment of the crease'plates 52 will now bedescribed. Pivoted to each of the templets 76at 313 (Fig. 2) andextending rearwardly of the machine are a pair of levers 314 pivotallysecured at a common point 316 to an arm 318 mounted for forward andrearward swinging movement about a pivot pin 320 in threaded engagementwith a lug 322 (Fig. 7) carried by thetable 234'. The levers 314 arenormally urged forwardly of the machine by a spring 324, the rearportion of which is secured to the end of the-arm 318 and the forwardend of which is secured to a screw 326 mounted upon the top plate 259 ofthe table '234. Located beneath the arm 318 and also fulcrumed about thepin 320 is a lower arm 328, which is normally rigidly held in itsforward position for move-. ment with the arm 318 through a block-330.The block 330 includes a cam332 carried at the lower end of a rod 334pivotally mounted for swinging movement in the arm 318 and having ahandle 336 which may be set in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, ormay be swung to a position such as shown in dotted lines 338 for movingthe lower arm 328 rearwardly of the machine in relation to the arm 318.The reason for causing the lower'arm 328 to be moved rearwardlyrelatively to the arm 318 will be presently explaine Extendingdownwardly from the lower arm is a lug 340 (Fig. 7) which carries at itslower end a bolt 342 extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machineand is constructed and arranged upon movement of'the table 234 forwardlyof the machine to engage an upstanding lug 344 mounted upon the creaseplate operating back lever 136 (Fig. 4). The bolt 342, which carries alock nut 346, may

7 be adjusted in the depending lug 340 so that when thetable234 is inits forward position the bolt 342, upon engagement with the up standinglug 344, will swing the arm 318 rearwardly against the pressure ofaspring 324, which normally keeps the templets 260 in closed relation,for opening the templets 76'to a degree corresponding to the degree ofspread ofthe crease plates'52. When it is desired to change the backcutter556, the lower arm 328 is moved rearwardly relatively to the arm318 by swinging the handle 336 to the position outlined in dotted lines338 (Fig. 2), and after the 'stop'240 which sets the templets inpredetermined -p0& 85

sitions relatively to the crease plates 52. p

In order to move the cutter 56in a horseshoefshaped path for reducingthe sole to form the tongue 60 (Fig. 12), the operator grips the handles348 and 350 of the arm 280 andthe lever 284,respectively, and moves thecircular plate 274 guided by its cam rolls 272 around the guideway 270.The forward movement of the cutter during this operation is limited by aplate 352 carried by the guide bar 84 and with which the sleeve 244 engages. and its supporting mechanism will later be described in detail.

When the table 234-is moved fromits forward position to its-rearwardposition or vice versa, it is desirable to prevent the cutter whichextends below the top plate 114 (Fig. 4) from striking the top plate.According ly, provision is made for locating the cutter in-a centralizedposition in order that the cutter will ride lengthwise of the machine ina recess portion 354 of the top plate 114 when the table ismovingforwardly or rearwardly. This is accomplished by providing a dependingroll 356 carried by the operating arm 280 and adapted to ride in agroove 358 formed in a plate 360 (Fig. 2) screwed to the upperright-hand part of the machine frame and having a wide throat forexpediting, the guiding of the roll 356 into the groove 358 Theconstruction of the plate 352 during the rearward movement of the table:

Mechanism for efiwtz'hg heightwise adjustof baclc cutter externallythreaded sleeve 244 mounted ,on'

the'cutter shaft 58 and secured against axial movement relatively to thecutter shaft '58 by the collars 246 and 248 carries a spur'igear 362(Fig. 3) which meshes with a worm 364 keyed to a pin 366 rotatably'mounted in the

